Return From Shadows
by TheAttemptedWriter
Summary: Long ago, the Republic defeated the Sith Empire in the Cold War. Thousands of years pass with smaller Sith sects rising and falling until they fall off the map entirely. The rule of two has started. Little did the Sith of the bane line knew, much less the Jedi, a great power was preparing to emerge from the shadows once more. The Sith empire will return, and no one will stop them.
1. Into The Shadows

**Warning, large exposition spew in the middle of the chapter to explain things. You have been warned.** **I do not own Star Wars or any of its properties, including Star Wars: The Old Republic.**

Prologue

Third Person POV

_Dark Council Chambers on Korriban_

The dark council. The twelve most powerful people within the Sith Empire, the people who governed it and kept the lesser lords of the Sith in line. The very Sith who have no better except for the emperor himself, when he was alive at least. Now the twelve face a great dilemma. It was one they all knew they would have to face at one point or another, they just wished they could stay blind to the issue for a little bit longer. Too enjoy their power and the simple pleasures of life a bit longer.

The fractured empire was losing the war to the unified Galactic Republic. Weakness and infighting within their own ranks had cost them many lives, and the Republic capitalized on that fact. With each week more systems rejoined the republic, leaving the Empire smaller and weaker than ever. No matter what new weapons they aquired, no matter what enemies they defeated or what strikes they made against their ancient foe, they were still being pushed back. Defeated. Not due to weakness, but because their strength was unified and they had been foolish enough to sign that damned treaty that halted their momentum.

The Dark Council had come together to reconvene for potentially the last time. At least, most of them felt that it would be for the last time. All but one of them. That one who had hope?

Darth Nox.

Nox was a younger member on the council, even then he had the respect of his colleague's. He was powerful, daring, cunning, and most importantly he sought to serve the Empire and the Sith before himself. And he had not been idle. He knew the end was drawing near, and so he sought a way to preserve the Empire. To ensure that in the long run, the Sith would still rule the galaxy. At first he thought the number of Sith was the issue, but he ceased that line of thinking. He would not genocide his own people, and besides that, he knew it wasn't numbers. It was differences in Philosophy. If the Sith could all follow the same or a similar philosophy, they could emerge victorious.

The young Dark Lord looked over to one of his most trusted partners, Darth Marr. A council member he had long respected and worked with. They had formed a partnership of a sorts a few years ago, after Darth Nox had secured a material that ensured the Empires survival for another few years. It wasn't enough to win them the war, but all the same it bought them time. And time was all they needed.

"So this is truly the end then. If our fate is to be defeated, we may as well go in a blaze of glory. Take the remainder of our fleets and armies and launch an all out assault on Corascant and Tython. Kill off as many of the Jedi as possible and leave the Republic reeling. We may suffer defeat, but it won't be without taking as many of them down with us as possible." Darth Ravage. Normally the type to complain and bicker, he was more somber after realizing the Empire he dedicated his life to was facing defeat. They all were more morose at the realization.

Darth Marr only shook his head at his colleague, sighing through his mask and raising a hand up to his temple. "On that note, we can inflict far more cssualties if we simply dedicate all our resources to defending Korriban or Dromund Kass. Wait for them to come to us and crush them. When they finally begin the ground assault, they will have to fight tooth and nail for every centimeter of soil on the planet."

And so it continued. The Darths of the council continued to give ideas as to what their final actions should be, a few having come up with the idea to go into hiding again, take as many as their forces into the unknown regions once more. Yet in the end none of them could stomach the thought of hiding again, at least not like that. To retreat from the galaxy completely, it simply went against their pride. As the discussion continued, Darth Nox remained silent.

Darth Nyx, a Lady of the Sith who had risen to the station of Darth after the Revanite incident, noticed Nox's silent. It was no surprise she did, during the incident she was known as Lana Beniko. Her and Nox had gotten quite... close to say the least. And now she turned her attention to him, for the moment deciding to stay professional as she addressed him, "Lord Nox, it would seem you have something on your mind. Would you care to share with the rest of the council?"

The chamber silenced. Each of the remaining Dark Lords turned to their colleague, each of them looking at him warily. Even though they were all considered equal, many had become wary after his display in his duel against Thanaton. The only other member who appeared unafraid was Marr, who trusted his fellow lord above all the others on the council.

Nox, to his credit, did not seem to truly care that he was called out. No, if anything it seemed he was waiting for someone to take notice of his silence. Normally during these meetings he would have spoken up already to support Marr or oppose Ravage, if anything he was surprised his silence wasn't picked up on sooner. He sighed through his helmet and stood from his grand throne, slowly walking down the steps to stand in the center of the chambers. "Yes, I would certainly care to share. Our Empires fall was a long time coming, in its current state all we could do was simply prolong the inevitable. This became clear to me not long after I joined the council. For the past few years I've been preparing for our fall. I've been readying our means of survival."

The other dark lords exchanged glances, those who had their faces uncovered showing either interest, curiosity, or even surprise. They thought there was no hope, and here was their colleague admitting he had been preparing for this very day. Though they supposed it wasn't shocking, he wasn't quite as blinded by Sith tradition as some of them, as shown during the Kaggath that had been declared those few years ago.

He took the Councils silence as a sign to continue and moved forward, spreading his arms out and gesturing to the entirety of the council, "I am near assured if we all went blow for blow with the Jedi Council, we would find ourselves victorious. And yet we are still the losing side. Seeing this, I refused to sit back and allow the weak Jedi to leave our bodies in the dust. During this time I came up with a plan, and gathered everything we would need to execute it."

"During my time as an acolyte, I found the Dashade Khem Val held in a sort of stasis field that kept him from aging for thousands of years. He was weakened once he was released, but he regained his strength over time. Once I began to plan for our survival, I began to look into this equipment. Upon doing my research on it, I found it would be a simple matter to make a far more modern version, causing less side effects and capable of keeping us alive."

"After acquiring the foundry along with Lord Revan, I began producing droids to produce stasis pods. As of right now, the droids I produced have made well over a thousand pods, with the assistance of my criminal empire on Nar Shadda and Lord Revans resources. The ships under my command all have a crew of droids ready to man them, with isotope-5 powering all of them. What I propose is we all go into stasis with our most trusted military commanders. We tell our two most trusted students of our plans and we all go underground, with each of our council members spread out across the galaxy with our fleets hidden and men ready."

"Each of our students will need to get two students of their own, both to grow our numbers further and prevent further infighting in favor of unity and cooperation. We will be woken from our slumber once the galaxy is ready for our return, and once every last pod has been filled with a fully trained lord of the Sith. They will have our own holocrons to learn from, and most importantly we will enforce the idea of unity, and not betrayal."

They all remained silent once Nox was done. It was reasonable to assume the stasis tech could've been easily modernized, and it would seem he had prepared for this for a long time. Isotope-5 had helped keep the Empire alive, and with ships manned by Foundry droids it would be possible for them to return to the galaxy with an army. It would catch their enemy off guard. The Empire would be reborn, and there would be no more infighting.

Now with a plan, a surge of darkness swept through the room. The lords now had a plan they were confident in, a plan ensuring their survival. They were hesitant to say it would be the definite fall of the Republic, after they had all assumed this would be their end. But they all knew the Sith would live on. As far as they were concerned, there was just one issue.

"And what of the current Empire, Lord Nox? The Jedi will hunt us down if we suddenly go missing from it. I assume these pods will ensure they can't sense us, but will it ensure they won't find us while we're weakened and ready for the slaughter?" Revan was the one to voice the concern of the council. He had rejoined the Sith after he was defeated in the foundry, with Nox using the power of his apprentice Ashara to heal his fractured mind, returning him to Darth Revan. Nox kept him in hiding up until the Revanite incident, only revealing him at its most crucial moment to bring the Revanites under heel. Now having been seen as a savior as both Empire and Republic, and with the backing of Nox, he and Nyx both took their places on the council, replacing the two Sith who had turned against the council or died. His mind had been invaluable in ensuring the prolonged survival of the Empire, but even he could not prevent its doom.

"Simple, Lord Revan. I have taken the liberty of preparing our deaths. Moff Pyron has orders to fire on our council chambers on Korriban, which are currently filled to the brim with now useless dark side artifacts and bound Dark Jedi, enough to give the idea of a convening council. He will obliterate the chambers before escaping to the proper coordinates, tricking the galaxy before he too goes into hiding." And so Darth Nox finished explaining his plan, looking up at his fellow Lords of the Sith for their approval.

Each of the said Dark Lords needed only a few seconds to make up their mind. They let Lady Nyx voice their consensus.

"We'll follow this plan, Lord Nox. For the Empire. For the Sith."

Linebreak

In the following months the Empire began to destabalize. Each member of the Dark Council took another Darth not of the council with them into stasis, each member chosen being trusted above all others to serve the Empire. Once it was done they sleected their two apprentices to continue their legacy, three non sith military leaders to go into hiding with them, and each took three dreadnoughts and five light frigates they would take with them into hiding. Each of their dreadnoughts was mofidied to have a Silencer weapon attached, and a Foundry droid crew ready to maintain the ships until such a time they were needed for war. Once their deaths were reported to the rest of the galaxy they went into stasis, with each Darth and their followers being spread out across the galaxy, with hundreds of empty pods going with each of them.

After they had gone into stasis, their loyal students all went to Korriban as the Republic rapidly began to reach the Sith planet. Each of the former apprentices picked the two acolytes that were to their liking and left the planet with them, leaving their fellow Sith to fend for themselves. It would be time for this Empire to fall, so that a new one may rise from its ashes more powerful than ever. They could not afford to stay and assist their allies, else they be doomed alongside them.

Darth Nox took Darth Achelon and Khem Val along with his three moffs into stasis, his star system not being too far from Darth Nyx's. He wanted to be able to reunite with her at the first opportunity once their Empire was ready to return, even if they would all reconvene at Dromuund Kaas together. He wanted time alone with her before the council next met, for reasons entirely his own.

And so the grand Sith Empire fell into ruin, the infighting and ultimate power vacuum destroying it from the inside out. As the years went by the former apprentices each were placed into stasis, with their own students continuing their work in taking their own apprentices before going into stasis. They placed any newfound knowledge into holocrons they had made, adding it into the collection of teachings left behind by their dark council. Fractured Empires rose and fell in their absences, and these students watched as these Sith fell. One Sith who had descended from Xaleks teachings, and in turn Darth Nox's, had to slaughter one of these Sith over a thousand years after the Empire fell after he dared to claim to be a descendant of the great Nox. In around 1,000 BBY these Sith seemingly began to drop off the radar, as Banes rule of Two came into effect. The other Sith who followed the philosophy of the council kept tabs on these Bane line Sith, convinced they could be a potential threat once the Empire returned in all its glory.

Years passed, as more and more Sith began to fill the stasis pods. Nearing the time of the clone wars, the last of the pods had finally been filled, with the current active Sith now being species that all had longer lifespans than humans by nature. Wookies, Zabraks of both Dathomirian and Iridonian nature, feeorins and the like. These were all species that could live for centuries, in the hopes of ensuring that the Sith would finally find the time to emerge into the galaxy once more. If they were going to die before it was time, they would need to program a few foundry droids to waken their fellow Sith in hope of retaking the galaxy in the future.

They finally found their opportunity a few years later. The clone wars had begun, and entire planets were being engulfed by the warfare. The galactic republic and its inexperienced and weakened Jedi, vs the Confederacy lead by the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus. The galaxy was fractured, the Jedi now faced heavy prejudice, and it was not illegal to be a Sith in the Republic. This would be the time to appear not only as a force to be reckoned with, but it would be the best choice for those to join.

Begun, the clone wars have. Soon to begin, the New Sith Wars are.

**Now, not at all the most entertaining or badass chapter, but this is just meant to basically explain the story. Its exposition. Next chapter things are going to get a lot more interesting!**


	2. Into the Shadows, Chapter 2: Emerge

Third Person POV

Chapter One: Return

_Korriban, deep within its ancient tombs_

Darkness was the reality of the tombs. Much of the wildlife that used to be found on the planet has now died off long ago, with only the descendant of the Kor'slugs remaining. If one were to explore these tombs with the assistance of light, they would find the odd droid patrols wandering, seemingly guarding something. Even the slugs stayed away from these parts of the tombs, knowing now that only death awaited them there.

Two lights began to descend into these tombs, these lights being the illuminating blades of lightsabers. Red sabers. These were some of the few Sith active from the Nox line of teaching, with a few having been killed due to poor circumstances, and the rest simply waiting for the rest of their brethren to be awakened. More would be active, if but a few short months ago their masters hadn't filled the last of the pods left behind by the council. They had thought that like their masters, they would have to wait years to wake the Sith currently under their protection, only to have a pleasant surprise arise in the last month. A new galactic war had begun.

The different lines of Sith occasionally exchanged information whenever they could, and it was well known at this point that the CIS was lead by a strong user of the dark side known to the rest of the galaxy as Count Dooku, though none of their sects had attempted to get more information on the fallen Jedi. They had a few more important matters to attend to at the time.

But the outbreak of a new war? It was the kind of opportunity they were told to wait for. A galaxy divided, a galaxy _dissatisfied _with the current system. They wouldn't have a better chance than now.

One of these Sith was a young dathomirian zabrak, and the current leader of the Nox sect of teaching and leadership. One Sith from each line lead their respective groups, forming a spread out pseudo Dark Council to operate in the shadows that only met on rare occasions. Upon the outbreak of these so called Clone Wars they all met via holoprojector to discuss their next action. It was a unanimous decision to awaken all of their brethren once more.

The zabrak lead his companion deep into the tombs, before finally reaching their destination. One of many large and empty rooms, now housing the stasis pods that made it possible for the Sith Empire to live on, even after their pathetic defeat thousands of years ago. It was due to the plans of Nox that this was at all possible in the first place. He was proud to have come from the Dark Lords teachings, and glad to have the honor of being one of the Sith to awaken his group.

He turned to look at his twi'lek companion, his green friend giving him a glance out of the corner of his eye. The twi'lek nodded and moved to the back of the large room, approaching the cryo pod that had been active for the longest. The Dark Council members would all be the first to awaken. It was time for the galaxy to fear Darth Nox once more.

_Corucant, Jedi Council Chambers_

The council of Jedi masters sat in silence, exchanging somber looks with one another as they considered recent events in silence. A galactic scale war had broken out across the galaxy, after a thousand years of relative peace. They all knew if it wasn't for the actions of Jedi Master Sifo-Diyas, the Republic would've been left almost completely defenseless. Even then, their enemy far out numbered them and had greater economic backing. It would be difficult to come out of this conflict on top.

However, there was one matter of business that came first. "Former Jedi Master Dooku seems to have fallen to the dark side and joined the ranks of the Sith, but knowing what we do about him I don't believe he is the master we are searching for." Master Windu was the first to speak up, having been one of the Jedi to have joined the Jedi strike team on Geonosis and having briefly spoken with the count after he encountered him.

Grandmaster Yoda could only shake his head, solidifying their concerns. The old Jedi sighed and looked down at the floor, his voice flooded with disappointment, "Skilled in the force and the blade, Dooku is. Away from the order he has been, not long enough to fall to the dark and train the likes of Darth Maul. Another there is, and concerned I am over the threat this hidden master poses."

They had all suspected as much. The only question that remained now was this: Who was the master? Who trained the assassin Maul and orchestrated the fall of one of their orders best and brightest minds? It frustrated them all to a certain extent that the veil of the dark side had been able to hide the presence of the Sith from the order for around a thousand years. It gave them all a feeling of weakness and inadequacy.

Before they could go much further with the topic of Dooku and the Sith, every member of the council couldn't stop themselves from freezing. Several of the masters fell to their knees from their seats as severe migraines began to form, and it was even worse for the Jedi throughout the galaxy. Lesser knights, masters, padawans and younglings all felt a terrible sickness well up within them, a feeling of foreboding and pain. They knew not what brought this all about, and most were too incapable of forming coherent thought. But what they did know was that they simply wanted it to end.

Even Yoda was incapacitated by this feeling of darkness, if only for a moment. Soon he reached deep within himself, reaching for the purity of the light side and using it to purge himself of this feeling of darkness. Before long he felt cleansed, filled with light once more. One by one, each of the other masters in the room began to do the same, slowly regaining their composure and placing themselves back upright or back in their seats once more.

Obi wan simply took a few moments to calm his breathing, sweat dotting his brow as he attempted still to compose himself. He, like the other masters, had been caught completely off guard, and felt simply disgusted with the feeling of darkness that had now exploded across the galaxy. Before the shroud of the darkside simply made it more difficult to reach out to the force, but now it was so thick and suffocating that they felt physically ill. "What... what _was _that? That presence... that pure feeling of hatred and darkness... of hunger... was that the Sith? Is it possible that was the master we have been searching for?"

Yoda however was quick to dismiss this idle speculation. Powerful this hidden Sith Lord may be, but so powerful as to affect any force sensitive across the entire galaxy? It was highly unlikely, especially with how sudden it was. Besides, why would this Sith keep his presence hidden for so long, only to announce it to anyone with the slightest bit of force sensitivity? It didn't make much sense. He would have to meditate on this, and with any luck, the situation hadn't just gone from bad, to horrible.

_Coruscant, Chancellors Office_

Normally stunned was not a word that could be used to describe Chancellor Palpatine, otherwise known as the Sith lord Darth Sidious. He had backup plans in place for any potential scenario that could end up disrupting his rise to emperor of the galaxy, and he even had backup plans for those plans in the case that they did fail. Many things had occurred over the years that he had either accounted for but didn't think was likely, or he hadn't accounted for and had apparently been fairly likely.

But an explosion of dark side energy just blanketing the galaxy out of the blue? Unlike the thousands of Jedi who fell ill to what they viewed as corruption, Sidious felt empowered, and more importantly he felt less alone than he ever had before. The only explanation for this he could think of was the appearance for more Sith, in which he could only wonder how they had hidden for so long, and what their motives would be. He couldn't stop the annoyance from creeping up his neck, knowing he now had rivals to the mantle Dark Lord of the Sith, but he was confident he'd be able to handle them, assuming they didn't tear themselves apart first. Betrayal was in the nature of the Sith after all.

And yet, despite the reassurances he gave himself, he couldn't help but feel at least some modicum of concern. He had taken Dark Jedi potentially finding Sith artifacts for power into considering, and in the end he dismissed this point as being of low consequence, but he hadn't dared to imagine the return of a large force of Sith. He knew he could handle them, the only question was how would he handle them? And how would they change the outcome of the Clone War he had so masterfully orchestrated for his rise to power and the fall of the Jedi?

Only time would tell. Sidious could only hope they wouldn't be a major threat after all.

_Sorenno, Counts office_

At first, Darth Tyranus was not exactly sure what to think of the power that now blanketed the galaxy. He was no fool, the sheer amount of darkness dwarfed even his masters own power. It wasn't difficult to figure out that it was a large group of Sith that had emerged from hiding, or a large sect dark side users at the very least. No one person could ever be powerful enough to release the amount of darkness he now felt, so thick and oily that it likely felt like suffocation for some of the weaker Jedi.

The question he had was how such a large group was able to remain hidden for so long. The Bane line of Sith had been able to remain in hiding due to their small numbers, it was relatively easy for two Sith to stay hidden in the galaxy. Yet the feeling he had from the new darkness in the galaxy, it was almost as if an entire order of Sith had simply emerged from nothing. Now he supposed he knew how the galaxy had felt those few thousand years ago when the Sith Empire returned from the unknown to wage war against the Republic.

This new group of players could prove to either he a threat to he and his masters plans for domination... or they could prove quite useful. Turning away from his window overlooking the courtyard on Sereno, the Darth turned on a holoterminal and brought up the commander of the Confederacy's droid armies, "General Grievous, I hope you aren't too busy. I have an important assignment for you."

The cyborg general stood with his arms folded behind his back and his black and red cape covering his shoulders. He shifted to the left to fully face the Sith, having seemingly been busy addressing one of his bridge officers, "Of course, my master. I am not so busy as to refuse a mission from you. What is it that you require of me, Count?" Tyranus couldn't help but be somewhat amused by the mannerisms displayed by his general, knowing the kaleesh general disliked such formalities. It was no matter however.

"I need you to assemble an escort fleet, you can use any of the ships within our fleet to make it up. You may also select the organics or droids to command each of these ships in the event of a battle. Report back to me once the fleet is assembled and I will come to join it. We will proceed from there once we have a bit more information." Though the darkness that came was powerful, his own senses were refined enough to tell that this group was spread out. Giving Grievous time to assemble the fleet would give these Sith time to regroup, and give him a chance to find and meet with these Sith all at once.

"I will see to it at once, Count. I will make sure to assemble the finest fleet I can with the resources I have available to be." And with that the cyborg ended the conversation, turning off the holoterminal and returning to his duties aboard his flagship. Darth Tyranus nodded in satisfaction after the call was ended and turned back to look over Soreno once more, curious as to what this series of events would bring.

_In space above Dromund Kaas, now abandoned_

The former capital of the Sith Empire, its cities now lay in ruin after the dust had cleared. The Sith and the Republic put together had brought what was once a grand representation of the power of the dark side and in turn the Sith Empire, to a mess. But the planet would be capable of serving one last purpose before the Sith were fully done with it.

It would serve as an excellent rendezvous point.

The silence was broken when the first harrower-class dreadnought broke out of hyperspace. It was a mere precursor of what was to come. Dozens of dreadnoughts followed it into the space above Dromund Kaas, with even more terminus class destroyers coming out to support. However, these Harrower-class ships were different from the ones that had originally been saved by the Dark Council.

These new Harrower ships were fifteen hundred meters in length, and outfitted with modern weaponry and equipment. Modern versions of the Centurion-class from Revan's time accompanied the fleet, now at a length of two thousand meters. Along with these were Phan-class battlecruisers, based off of the Derriphan ships that were also used by Revan. These ships are three hundred meters in length, and no longer serve as a battlecruiser like the Derriphan, but as an anti-fighter ship.

Darth Nox stood aboard the bridge of his new updated Harrower flagship, observing each of the ships as they came in. More still continued to exit hyperspace, with there likely being a total of a around two hundred ships in total. His own ships were mostly manned by droids from the Foundry, with a few human crewman to oversee them, so he had no doubt the situation was the same with the rest of the fleet. Though he was impressed with how their numbers had grown in hiding, he knew it wasn't enough. Not with the fleets the CIS had in their fleet, with the same going for the Republic.

Nox turned away from his window on the bridge and stalked out of the bridge, the few organic crewman on the bridge stopping to give the Darth a fearful salute. Even though he was weakened by his time in stasis, his power was still considerable and feared. He isolated himself within a room with a single seat that was placed in front of a half-circle of holoprojectors. Nox took his seat with a breath and turned on his projector, joining the Council meeting.

"Lord Nox, it took you enough time to join us. It would appear Ravage had a malfunction with his pod and passed away long ago. He has been replaced by Darth Lachris, and good riddance to the retch. Now, why the delay? Did your followers have difficulty awakening you on Korriban?" Darth Malgus, the most recent addition to the council controlled the sphere of military offense, having replaced Darth Arkous after his defection to the Revanites. The Darth was already killed by Nox by the time Revan took control of the Revanites, even then they wouldn't have given him his place on the council back.

"Some. It would appear the Korr'slugs have evolved to become something far more monstrous and deadly to adapt to the harsh environment, all the same my forces made it off world. I left behind some ships from my fleet to keep guard over the planet." It had been odd for Nox to wander Korriban in such a desolate state, with no acolytes moving about to keep the slugs in check and complete their trials. Though he supposed soon that would change.

Malgus nodded in satisfaction and sat back in his seat, currently not having much to offer in terms of conversation for the time being. Revan spoke up however, the head of military strategy immediately getting down to business, "My sect has managed to keep the Foundry protected and under our control, they also managed to construct a few ship yards with the assistance of the droids produced by it. Its helped us ensure our fleet won't be outnumbered and decimated by the numbers and technology of the modern galaxy, keeping us on even footing. Some yards are close to the foundry, as well as Yavin 4, Hoth, and a few other more isolated planets."

Marr hummed under his breath and leaned forward in his seat, looking around at his fellow council members as they discussed recent happenings, "We need to begin producing more ships immediately. We need to start forming defense fleets and proper offense fleets for this war, the Jedi and other prominent force users are likely already aware of our resurgence, they just don't know of our exact numbers and influence. We need to be quick if we're to fend off any potential enemies."

Nox sat in silence as the council continued to discuss plans for their return, the dark lord of the Sith closing his eyes behind his helmet and connecting his mind to Darth Marr, Nyx, and Darth Revan.

"_Meet me on my flagship, I would like to speak with you in person."_

**Amazing support from the start from y'all! Thank you so much! I can't promise much in terms of a update schedule due to how things are right now, but I will be doing my best.**

**And so the Sith Empire had returned. Now I already said it in the chapter, but the new Empires fleet consists of ships from Revan's and Vitiates Empire, however they have been remodeled with modern weapons and are now larger to compete with current ships. The harrower and Terminus on their own wouldn't do the trick, especially considering the Harrower is normally 800 meters long, while a venator is twice that length. Now these ships sizes and systems have been changed to keep the Sith on equal footing.**

**Now Malgus. If it wasn't clear from Revan and Lana being on the council, this is a more practical Dark Council, one that had an open position perfect for Malgus and with a group that he could agree with for the most part. I will be giving my list of Dark Council Members and their spheres of influence, and I hope you enjoyed!**

**Darth Nox- Sphere of Ancient Knowledge  
**

**Darth Revan- Sphere of Military Strategy (Felt this was a perfect fit)**

**Darth Marr- Sphere of Defense of the Empire (Because he's great for the job and tbh I love Darth Marr.)**

**Darth Malgus- Sphere of Military Offense (Malgus' beliefs lay in combat and was the type to fight on the front line, I felt he was meant for this sphere.)**

**Darth Nyx- Sphere of Sith Philosophy (I feel this is a good fit for her due to her level-headedness and insight into the force, she won't limit the sphere as much as her predecessors.)**

**Darth Vowrawn- Sphere of Production and Logistics**

**Darth Malora- Sphere of Scientific Advancement (Encompassing Biotic Science and Tech)**

**Darth Mortis- Sphere of Law and Justice**

**Darth Lachris- Sphere of Expansion and Diplomacy (Trained by Marr and just generally a better fit.)**

**Darth Cytharat- Sphere of Imperial Intelligence (I feel its better to have a Imperial Intelligence sphere then just Sith, and at that rate I think Lana as Darth Nyx is in a more useful place. Cytharat is also a fair minded Sith, strong, loyal to the Empire, and I felt he could do well in Intelligence.)**

**Darth Severin- Sphere of Covert Ops(Handling Black ops groups, special forces, criminal empires under their control, etc. Severin will be working close with Darth Cytharat. This sphere is one of my own creation that I felt fit him.)**

**Darth Silthar- Sphere of Mysteries (Just felt this was the best living choice for the sphere, will change it if y'all have a better idea.)**


	3. Into the Shadows, Chapter 3: Prep Time

Third Person POV

_In orbit above Dromund Kaas, on Nox's flagship the_ Widower.

Darth Nox stood in waiting within the hangar of his enhanced Harrower dreadnought, the dark lord patiently staring out at the new Sith fleet. Truly he was pleased with how well his plan turned out for the Sith, especially considering just how much they saved. The Sith species itself would be extinct now if it wasn't for those who had gone into hiding, the descendant of Kallig having done his research and checked up on all the information gathered by the Sith descended from his teachings. The situation was far better than he had expected.

The Republic, eternal enemy of the Sith Empire, demilitarized for a thousand years. Only recently had they formed a military, and even then it was hasty and filled with commanders who hadn't seen true war yet. Very few among them would be capable of adequately fighting off the Sith fleets and armies, especially considering everyone on the Council was experienced in warfare and had brought many experienced military leaders with them into stasis. The clone army could prove to be a potential problem, having been cloned from a skilled mandalorian, but that would not save them. An army of Mandalorians didn't save the neo-crusaders from Revan after all.

The Hutt cartel and several other crime syndicates that were more powerful back in the days of the Empire had seemingly weakened even further from what he could tell. This was also in the Sith's favor, as now they would no longer be able to interfere with their operations in a way that would hold them back. Nox still felt annoyance from the Hutts interference on Makeb in their attempt to remake the Hutt Empire. If it weren't for the slugs their attempts to secure isotope-5 for their fleets likely would have gone smoother, but that was another matter entirely.

Nox was cut off from any further thinking by the arrival of three shuttles from a few of his fellow council members. The members he had called to his ship were the only people he was certain he could trust with the safety of the Empire, though with Ravage dead and replaced he felt that their chances had increased significantly. He had allowed his bloodlust overcome rational thought more often then not, and tended to dispute the rest of the Dark Council on serious matters. The man was also unhealthily loyal to their absentee Emperor, even after his death. All he could provide for their new Empire was trouble.

And yet, while this was the best version of the Dark Council to rule of the Empire to date, he knew there could still be problems. He also knew that they had to be ready for whatever got thrown their way due to their precarious position. The Sith would NOT fail to rule the galaxy this time.

Darth Revan, Marr, and Nyx all left their respected shuttles, and upon laying eyes on Nox immediately moved to meet him. It was Revan who took the lead with the three Sith, the masked warrior stopped in front of their colleague with crossed arms, "Well, Lord Nox? Is there a reason you have brought us here, or did you simply wish for the joy brought by our company?"

The former slave scoffed at the Sith and shook his head, a small smirk forming under his helmet, "If it was simple company I required I would've asked for Lady Nyx to come alone, you and Marr aren't exactly well known for having a good time. Come, I'd rather not discuss things in front of my crew." And with that he turned away, knowing his allies would follow him with little question. He had earned their trust after all, and they his.

_Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers._

By now the Jedi Masters had long recovered from the surge of darkness that now suddenly blanketed the galaxy. They were getting reports from all across the galaxy from various Jedi that had been affected, with a few weaker knights and pawawans now in a coma, having been unable to handle the cold and despair. The younglings within the temple were in an even worse state, the one youngling that had woken up so far due to care from the temples healers convulsing and speaking gibberish. He was put back into a forced coma, until they could fully heal his mind.

Master Windu looked over at the orders Grandmaster, the small green Jedi in deep thought over what had just occurred. The old Jedi was immensely worried for the younger members of the order, but knew within time they would all be able to recover from what had happened. The bigger concern was the cause for the sudden tsunami of dark side energy that had caught all of them off guard. And so it was the purple saber wielder to bring the matter up first, "It would seem we have a more pressing concern than Dooku and his hidden Sith master. Strong in the force they may be, but they are not strong enough to have caused such despair on their own."

The short Grandmaster shook his wrinkled head with a thoughtful hmm, his eyes pointed down at the ground. After a few moments of silence he looked back up at his fellow council members, a slight frown having formed on his face, "Find the source, we must. To keep the peace, our priority is." Yoda was convinced that the threat they sensed would threaten the galaxy far more than the war with the CIS. He knew they had to help the Republic in the war with the CIS, but as things are they would be spread far too thin to manage both threats.

The old Grandmaster just wish he knew exactly why the Force was more steadfast than ever in its refusal to give him answers. All he could feel from the Force was satisfaction, an increasing sense of darkness, and strangely enough it somehow felt more whole. Like there had been something missing, something he hadn't noticed before. Something that made the Jedi feel as if insects were crawling all over him.

A Jedi was meant to serve the will of the Force. He wasn't entirely sure if they'd like what the Force had in mind this time around.

_Soreno, Dooku's office_

Darth Tyranus sat on his knees in front of his window overlooking a grand courtyard, the Count knowing he should take all the time he could to meditate in his home in peace while he still could. He needed more time to think about the additional darkness that seemingly came out of nowhere, while he gave Grievous time to prepare a fleet to investigate.

As he sat in a semi-peaceful meditation his holotable began to beep, signaling that he was receiving a transmission from someone. He already knew who it was, even though it was a simple holo-call he could already feel the will and might emanating from the transmission. He ended his meditation and accepted the transmission, only to once more kneel down for his called, "Greetings, my lord. What is thy bidding?"

Darth Sidious, current lord of the Sith as dictated by the rule of two Bane had devised well over a thousand years ago. The most powerful incarnation of the Bane line to date, and a most formidable enemy. One did not cross Sidious if they wished to live, nor did they trust him, "Lord Tyranus, I do not have much time. The Jedi seek an audience, so we must keep this brief. I assume you sensed the overwhelming freeze that overwhelmed the Force? The darkness that momentarily suffocated the galaxy?"

Tyranus looked up at his elderly master, nodding in confirmation at his master's question, "It would've been difficult not to feel it. I wouldn't be overly surprised if every living thing in this galaxy felt it, with the exception of those fully blind to the Force. I've already begun to assemble a fleet to investigate this new disturbance." Truly it was expected of him, if he had sat aside and done nothing the inaction would've likely displeased Sidious.

The hooded Sith nodded at his kneeling apprentice in satisfaction, his hands held out in front of him instead of being kept at his side or behind. An unspoken threat, should the Count displease him, "Well done, my apprentice. Whatever it may be, is a grand source of dark side energy, greater than any singular weapon or relic. Find it, and determine whether or not this will be useful to our plan. If it isn't, eliminate it."

Eliminate a source of darkness greater than he and his master put together? The thought was laughable, and it was likely Sidious knew it. Normally he didn't give tasks that seemed so unreasonable, not unless he either wanted to test his student, or if he was agitated. Tyranus couldn't help but feel it was the latter more than the former, he also couldn't help but feel he would be a source for Sidious to vent his frustrations on once everything was said and done. He just couldn't help but be oh so excited for his next call with Sidious.

"I will do as you command my lord, I will attempt to make contact as soon as I have results." And with that, Sidious cut the transmission, going to prepare for his meeting with the Jedi. As he left Tyranus to prepare, the former Jedi couldn't help but wish for his masters untimely demise, knowing that a punishment was nearly unavoidable considering the current path he was given.

Sometimes, he wished he could cut him down himself.

_The _Widower.

Darth Nox watched from the bridge as the majority of the newly returned Sith Empire jumped to hyperspace, with the rest of the Dark Council leaving. Nox was the only one to stay behind, overseeing expeditions that were sent down to the surface of Dromund Kaas. The planet's once grand cities and monuments were in ruins, and the storms that occasionally plagued the planet had worsened to a point that it was completely unviable to rebuild there. Even still, he would stay until there was nothing else of importance left behind within the ancient tombs and the underground bunkers from the Sith that used to cover the planet. Knowledge, artifacts, weapons the Council didn't have access to.

His fellow council members had left to seek out the planets that had once been a part of the Empire that had been long abandoned by the rest of the galaxy, as well as planets the Republic and Hutts abandoned after enough time passed. They would need to set up a presence among these planets first, establish hyperspace routes, supply planets, blockades, establishing a connected Empire within the shadows. They would reveal themselves soon, once they could be presented as a unified power. Luckily their followers had been working on such an objective while they slumbered, many who had been descendants of the old Empire already being citizens of the newly forming one. Now it would be connected, and properly lead.

His meeting with his fellow council members had taken quite some time to conclude. Though this was the best the Dark Council had ever been, Nox knew he could only fully trust the Sith he had called to his ship. The rest were a tad, questionable. Namely the likes of Malgus, a Sith with both the cunning and ambition to pose a threat to the new Empire if he turned on them. Though even he would stand no chance against the current council. There are very few who would. Someone like Malgus could have posed a much greater threat before to the old fractured Empire, but the current one would represent unified power.

Once Nox had awakened and boarded the new Harrower model he had wasted little time in catching up on current events, as well as any major points of interest that had occured as he slumbered. Once everyone had settled he had brought the council up to speed with the current state of the galaxy, the view of the Jedi and the changes they had all gone through, and the history of the Sith that had survived after they left the failing Empire to die. It was pleasing to know that there were now myths of Jedi being the type to steal a child away in the night, among many other rumors.

Nox was cut off from his wandering thoughts once the doors to the bridge opened, allowing entrance to his former khaleesh apprentice Lord Xalek. He had not made him a Darth yet, the descendant of Kallig intending to establish a further pecking order within the Sith government. He would ensure his old apprentice would be promoted, but only once everything was set in place, "Yes, Xalek? I assume you have something important to bring to my attention?"

The masked warrior nodded at his former master, still bowing to him out of respect to both his might and higher position as a member of the Dark Council, "Yes my lord. There was a planet I felt you may find interesting, one I discovered after sifting through a few old datapads. Dathomir. The planet has seen great change since our time, and now seems to be inhabited mainly by a group of force wielding witches, and clans of male zabrak that serve the witches. Strong rancors and other beasts also wander its surface, and could serve as impressive war beasts, or pit animals to rip apart prisoners."

The comments on the zabrak and the witches were enough to interest him, the beasts not as much. Though he supposed he could send a few specimens to Malora for study, he was sure she'd be thrilled to work on strong rancor. After all, who knew how much the beasts had evolved and changed since they had last slaughtered them?

"Witches and zabrak you say? Interesting. Interesting indeed. If they are known as witches, then I would wager that their usage of the force is more unorthodox than that of both Sith and Jedi. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Xalek. Moff Pyron, recall all expedition units. I have a sudden desire to visit Dathomir, I'd quite like to meet some witches." Nox couldn't help but smirk behind his mask. Perhaps this would be a chance for the Sith to adapt and evolve further.

**Sorry this is a bit late y'all, and a bit shorter. School and work and such, and honestly just forgot about this a few times. And so the Sith are on the move, and to clarify yes they do have loyal Sith civilization set up on many planets that had been in their Empire, as well as a few that had been out of their reach. This would have been going on the last few hundred years, think of it as a less ludicrous hidden civilization than what Valkorian had. **

**And to clarify, no. Nox and his chosen Sith are not planning to betray the rest of the council. I know it wasn't made explicitly clear what the subject of conversation was, but I'm sure someone could figure it out. And of course, Nox moves to Dathomir, to meet with the witches that caused both Sidious and Dooku oh so much trouble. Who knows how the meeting will go ay. **

**I would like to take the time to thank y'all for all the support and feedback, it has honestly been fucking amazing. Not only is it supportive, its actually meaningful reviews. Its not just, "best story iv evr read, tanks alot!" its idea being given, detailed support, and I love it. Thank y'all.**

**If you enjoyed make sure to review, follow, favorite, all that jazz!**


	4. Into the Shadows, Chapter 4: Discussion

Third Person POV

_The Widower, overlooking the red world of Dathomir_

Darth Nox looked over the planet with interest, having been informed from a few scouting probes sent down that the planet was covered in a red mist. A few of his probes had found the witches known to the galaxy as the nightsisters, and the zabrak that served them known as the nightbrothers. Both had destroyed a few probes, but one that had examined each managed to escape, though damaged.

These people certainly interested him. He had read through a few legends regarding them, and knew they were not to be trifled with, nor were they to be fully trusted. At least, not unless he did them a great service. He knew he could attempt to crush them underfoot, make them submit to his will. Yet he couldn't help but have the feeling they would end up fighting back until the end, and if he forced them to do that they would be of no use to him. Corpses could not serve the Empire.

'_Perhaps something to do with the thousands of lingering spirits on this world. Though they linger it isn't in anger, they simply seem patient. Almost as if they are waitint for something. What that something is, I couldn't say._' It was times like these where Nox was glad to have had the foresight to take in his ancestor as a spirit to help bolster his strength. He had been more than willing to offer power to his descendant as well as advice, while also getting the added benefit of seeing the modern galaxy.

"Lingering spirits? Interesting. Perhaps its come time for me to go planetside and investigate this matter personally." Darth Nox turned away from the bridge and began his walk down to the hangar, turning to moff Pyron as he left the bridge, "You have the command while I'm gone, keep an eye on the comms. This could go from peaceful negotiations to an invasion fast."

_Dathomir, Nightsisters Temple_

Mother Talzin sat silently in front of her crystal ball, frowning at the object quietly. She had seen many things within this ball, including the end of the nightsisters clan as they knew it, all at the hands of the very Sith who she gifted an apprentice. It was disheartening, but if this was to be the fate of her and her sisters, they would make sure to create as much trouble for the Sith as they possibly could.

At least, that was the reoccurring vision up until recently. That darkness that smothered all who could feel the force had not escaped her notice. The spirits of her vanquished sisters had writhed and screeched in anger, momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden influx of power and rage. A few of the living nightsisters had been the same, though they had been quickly brought back to sanity by Talzin.

When the nightsister matriarch looking within her crystal ball again, she saw them. An Empire long dead and forgotten by the galaxy, finally returning to power. How she had missed them before she couldn't say, perhaps they were hidden from her somehow, or her focus had been too aimed at the Bane Sith she already knew about. Now thousands of Sith crawled from the shadows, and she saw a new future for her sisters.

One of the younger members of the clan ran to Talzin with a bow in hand, stopping and bowing her head to the elder Witch, "Mother Talzin, a shuttle has been spotted landing nearby. None of us recognize it from what little we know of both the Confederacy and the Republic. Its someone different, seperate from the both of them." This witch seemed almost panicked, having not seen much combat before and knowing the odds of her clans survival should an invasion occur.

Talzin was entirely unsurprised however, in fact one may say she was quite pleased. They had taken interest in her people far sooner than expected, it would seem now is the time to ensure their survival, "I had forseen this days ago, though I had not known it would happen so soon. Escort the passengers here, to me. Do not disarm them, and whatever you do, do not cross them. It will mean our doom if you do."

The young witch paled further, if possible, and ran off to do as their mother bidded. If their survival required these people, she would need to be fast. She would not be cited as the reason the powerful clan was turned to dust.

* * *

Darth Nox seemed relaxed as he was lead by the young witch, his former apprentice watching over the shuttle that had brought them down to the red misted planet. The knowledgeable Dark Lord couldn't help but be mildly amused by the precautions taken by the adept witches. Around eight witches had him surrounded, while well over a dozen followed them in the trees. Even though they recieved orders to bring him peacefully, it would seem they were ready to try and kill him.

Try was most certainly the key word here. If they decided to annoy him, he would of course make a swift and merciless example out of the whole lot of them.

Upon being brought to their home, he couldn't help take in the details. Giant statues of what was likely past matriarchs of the clan, all of it seemingly ancient. He couldn't help but be curious as to how these people came about, and how long they had been on Dathomir exactly. He knew they had been here for a while based off the architecture and legends surrounding them, though he only had guesses as to how long they had been there.

'_Careful. Something looms in there, something powerful. Many of the spirits that linger on this world are attached to this place, be on guard. We don't know exactly what we're dealing with when it comes to these witches._' Kalligs presence faded into the background once more after his warning, the descendant of the Sith unable to stop a smirk from forming beneath his mask. Perhaps things would be more interesting here than expected.

It wasn't much longer before the awakened dark lord was brought before a table with a crystal ball at its center, the bit of land the table sat on surrounded by a small pool of water. Sat at the head of the table was a woman unlike the rest of the clan, one who was obviously far older and more experienced. Her eyes seemed to stare right past his mask and into his soul, and he couldn't stop the smirk from turning into a savage grin.

"Ah, welcome to my humble home, Dark Lord. I had expected your arrival to this place, but I had not dared to expect it so soon. I didn't think you would find this place to be of much importance." As warm a welcome as she was willing to give to an outsider, Mother Talzin was wary of the man. She knew of the Empires return, even if he who claimed to be the Lord of the Sith didn't know it yet.

Nox looked away from Talzin for a moment, once more studying their surroundings. Once he looked over at a wall of stone, his gaze lingering on what he could sense beyond it for but a moment before he continued his examination. Once he was satisfied he turned back to Mother Talzin, his arms crossing and his right hand rolling as he spoke, "Many thanks for the warm welcome, I had expected a fight upon my arrival. Imagine my surprise when I'm simply escorted to you, and left with my weapons as well. I assume you have a reason for all this?"

Talzin gestured for the Dark Lord to take a seat next to her, a silent offer which he accepted. Talzin put her elbows on the table before the crystal ball, the tips of her fingers touching as she spoke, "You would assume correctly. I have seen many things with this power of mine, and I saw two paths for my people. Utter annihilation, or survival, with my clan being stronger than ever. Destruction laid with opposing you, as well as the other Sith in the galaxy. But refuge, that came with assisting you."

It was at the mention of future telling that Nox began to get serious, as well as talk of the other Sith. As if their faction and that of the Empires would remain two seperate entities, "You speak of the future with confidence, I'll assume it is far from the first time you've taken a look for your clan. I'll believe you for the time being." If only because there was no harm in disbelieving her, and plenty of benefits if she was telling the truth, "As for these other Sith, who are they? You make it sound as if they will be a problem."

The matriarch nodded at the masked Sith, lifting her hands and allowing them to hover over her crystal ball for a few moments, "Yes, these other Sith of the modern era. Long after the fall of your initial Empire came the lineage of Bane, a Sith who believed there was only one way the Sith could survive, and thrive. Only two there could be, a master to hold the power, and an apprentice to crave it. It encouraged betrayal, and served those with ambition and cunning."

"In the current era the Master is known as Darth Sidious, a master puppateer, manipulator, politician, and unmatched in the dark side. Darth Tyrannus, otherwise known as Count Dooku. He is old though, too old to be a proper student. He is but a placeholder till Sidious finds a suitable replacement. Sidious craves power, and would refuse to share it with anyone. He would never work with your Empire, he would sooner destroy it from the inside out."

Nox's frown continued to deepen as he listened to the night sister, mildly concerned over the identity of the Sidious. Though he didn't feel his wrath would be enough. After all, what was the might of one master, against that of the Dark council? Though there was something that interested Nox, an omission Talzin had made.

"And what of Dooku?"

_By the Foundry, __Darth Revans Flagship, The Balance_

Revan stared out into empty space as his crew of mainly droids moved about, executing their tasks. He had taken the time to study some of the schematics for some of the battle droids of the modern galaxy, secured by the stealth specialists of Nox. The majority of them, such as the B1 battledroid and even the B2, he deemed as useless to their war efforts and discarded them. However the BX commando series had warranted further study, and was having the Foundry create some prototypes. There was something there that intrigued him.

The bridge opened as one of his few organic officers walked in. Though the Sith had managed a small Empire in secret, they had no been able to keep a large organic force, something they intended to change. While the droids were reliable and felt no pain, he knew it was no true replacement for a living beings instinct, emotion, and mind. The officer bowed to Revan before he looked back up at the masked warrior, back straightened and shoulders back, "My lord, you have an incoming transmission from Lord Marr."

Revan nodded without a word and left the bridge, moving to a seperate room with a holotable instead of accepting it in public. He accepted the transmission, the figure of the mighty Darth being projected into the room, "Darth Marr, is something wrong? I'll assume you're not attempting to contact me over trivial matters."

The masked lord in red couldn't help but scoff at his colleague, shaking his head at the former Jedi, "No. As head of our Empires defense, I couldn't help but do some research into the Jedi to see how they've changed. What I found was enlightening, to say the least. It would appear our old enemy has fallen since the days of our Empires prime, and face growing unrest from the public. Myths of Jedi stealing children away in the night, outcry at the war and their involvement. I did further research, and it would seem they are no longer as well attuned to battle as they once were, and are more like droids these days."

He could see the logic in Marr investigating the modern Jedi. Jedi had been often used in strike teams against the Empire, it had been a Jedi strike team that had also killed their Emperor and began the fall. He knew Marr also had a healthy respect as well as disdain for their ancient enemy, especially his own descendant Satele. To hear the Jedi had fallen so far was both excellent news, and somewhat disappointing.

"Quite frankly, it disgusts me. I'm not quite sure I could view these Jedi as the same level of threat as in our day. I have a plan, and I feel its going to be time for our Empire to announce its glorious return." Even through a holo transmission, Revan could feel the disgust. He felt the same regarding how far their old enemies had fallen.

"What do you propose, Lord Marr? Within a few weeks we will be able to defend our Empire borders effectively, I assume you have something special in mind for when we reach that point?" He couldn't help but be curious as to his old friends plan. He knew the Empire would have to rebuild their image and make a strong impression on the rest of the galaxy, it would seem the majority had forgotten them after all. But simply attacking a planet wouldn't suffice.

"I have a plan in mind, Lord Revan. One that will leave both the Jedi and the Republic itself reeling. Its time the Galaxy remembers the true power that is meant to govern it."

Though neither could see the others face, both Sith knew that the other was grinning. It was almost time.

**Sorry for the long wait y'all, been busy with school, work, and I finally got my braces off! Woot woot!**

**Also, little idea I wanted to bounce offa y'all. How would you like it if after every five chapters, I do a short story relating to this fanfic. Stuff like the current whereabouts of the shans and other stuff y'all may come up with as well!**


	5. Return From Shadows: The Shans

**I would like to say it here and now, this will not be as character driven. Imagine this as more of a narration, one from Revan. This is similar to the World of Remnant mini episodes RT releases for RWBY in a sense, and gave me some minor inspiration. I intend to release the proper chapter 5 this weekend, hopefully this can help tide ya till then!**

The Shan. The bloodline of this family has always been strong in the force, and many of its members have risen to prominance within the Jedi Order. Bastilla and Satele Shan to name a few. A part of what made them so famous was their ability to use battle meditation, an ability I found quite troublesome back during the days of my own Empire. It had certainly been able to slow me down.

Though the Shans children didn't always join the order, the bloodline always made its way back to the ancient order of force users. Theron Shans own children eventually joined the order, even though he didn't exactly agree with the idea. Any that didn't join the order still stayed as a part of the Republic in some way, always loyal to what they felt was good. Theron, though not a Jedi, was a good agent for the Republic.

As the years passed the Shans remained in prominance among the Jedi Order for their prowess in the force and their skill in saber combat, though few would ever rise to be as skilled and famous as Bastilla, who had been capable of catching my eye, and Satele, one of my descendants. She had been an excellent grandmaster during the day of her order.

They were a family that felt fierce love for life and those close to them, and were considered to be more susceptible to the dark side of the force than any other. Their fierce devotion and compassion had nearly brought many a Shan to the dark, yet they were always able to resist it. Yet even then, it was partially this great love that made them so great. It gave them drive, willpower. Whereas another Jedi may have given up, the Shan would push forward. The Shan succeeded where others failed.

This fierce drive of theirs was part of what had attracted me to Bastilla in the first place.

Many of the grandmasters that came to sit on the council through the orders several thousand years of survival were shans, or trained by them. It was suffice to say their history was rooted in the Jedi, and I had never imagined there would be a Jedi order without them. And yet...

Yet slowly, despite their influence, the order started to change. Love, marriage, emotion itself was becoming outlawed within the Jedi order. Other council members and the occasional grandmaster slowly saw to this process. The Shan fought it as hard as they could.

'We're not droids! We can't simply cut out a part of us that makes us who we are! To deny our emotions is foolhardy, and will only damage the order!'

And so they lost prominance. Despite their innate skill and ability, they were slowly being fazed out. Each new generation of Shan met more resistance, and more generations began to skip going to the order at all, knowing what it was becoming. Knowing that they would no longer be welcome among their ranks, not truly.

Some went in the hopes of bringing about change, of beginning to return the order to its former glory. And yet failure after failure began to wear them down, yet instead of striking against the damned Jedi who were working to ruin them-

...

So much sentiment, for people that are my descendants by hundreds of years. For people I haven't even met. I suppose I take more pride in them than I thought.

Continuous failures to bring about change eventually showed the Shan that they could no longer stay in the order, not while keeping their ideals intact. If they tried ti do so, they would eventually face exile regardless. They could no longer be Jedi, or at least, not as a part of the order. Not as a part of the Republic, they knew they would recieve no help from the government after all.

Around a little under a thousand years ago, the last Shan Jedi left the order, and there has seemingly been no mention of their bloodline ever since. They seemingly disappeared, leaving no trace as to what happened to them afterwards. Most of the prominant Shan, with the exceptions of Satele and Bastilla, were downplayed. Made to seem like minor members of the order.

The only reason I know any better is the fact that Nox's disciples kept any bit of information they found important archived. I can't help but be thankful for them, else I wouldn't have found out how Bastillas bloodline, _our_ _family_, ended.

My dear Bastilla... how you must have been rolling in your grave. I can only imagine your pain, the anger you felt at the order. What would you have done, if you were still alive today? I can only speculate, but in the end, I'd like to believe you would leave. You wouldn't stay with the rotting order.

And so, that is the tale of the Shan, a bloodline known for producing great Jedi. Even Nox's disciples hadn't been able to keep track of them after they went into hiding, it was almost as if they no longer existed. I'd like to believe that somewhere in this galaxy they are still alive, attempting to thrive. Even if my own blood would've been diluted over thousands of years, they are still descended from me. It would be a shame if this was how they ended.

Quietly, and out of the picture.

It is no matter. Soon, Bastilla. Soon I will exact vengeance against the order, for the wrongs they dealt our family. That they dealt me. For the damage they've done and for how far they've fallen. I have a plan, and the Jedi will never see what hit them. At least, not until its too late.

**Yea only about a thousand words, but its meant to be a short story. I imagined the Shans would be in and out of the order, due to Satele and Theron, and sorta based things around that. I hope you all enjoyed!**


	6. Into the Shadows, Chapter 5: Reveal

Third Person POV

_Chancellors office, Coruscant_

_Two months after Nox's trip to Dathomir_

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had a look of deep concern as he sat behind his desk, looking at the guests who had sought an audience with him. The tips of his fingers touched while his elbows remained on the table, the elderly politicians frown being highly pronounced, "And you are sure that this, feeling for a lack of a better word, you're sure its reliable? That there is a new threat to the Republic?"

Grand Master Yoda, along with some of the other council members currently not on the front lines, was sat in front of the Chancellor. After some discussion amongst themselves, they decided that the best course of action was to go and try to warn the Republic leader. The Jedi knew that what they sensed was a threat to not just the Republic, but the entire galaxy at large.

The little green Jedi had his wicker stick in his lap, the old Jedi looking down at the floor as he made his reply, "Mmm, yes, a great threat it is. A new darkness, cover the galaxy it does. Worse than the CIS. Prepare, we must."

Before the Chancellor could make a reply an emergency transmission began to come through, which the chancellor accepted immediately, "What is it?"

It was the commander of the senate guard, the man seemingly panicked as he looked between his holo and the image of the Chancellor, "Its the temple! There's a shuttle, an older design, its heading right for the Jedi temple! We don't know how it slipped past the fleet!"

And suddenly the masters of the council lept up to their feet, not only at the news but at the new feeling. Fear, shock, panic, all of it coming from the temple. The Jedi temple was under attack, right after they had left it to speak with the Chancellor. Its best warriors weren't there to defend it.

"We're goi-... evacua-..." The transmission soon cut out entirely, before anyone in the room could even attempt to ask any questions. Right as the Jedi got up and prepared to run, a new image appeared. One that Yoda recognized from the holocrons with shock, and one Palpatine recognized with slight fear.

"I am known as Darth Revan. The time of the Republic and the parasites known as the Jedi will be over soon. We had been hunted and forced into hiding for thousands of years by our enemies. And this time..." The masked warrior paused for affect, his hologram looking around as if he was looking at an audience. The galaxy his viewers, "We will not be stopped."

If Yoda didn't feel at least some small inkling of fear from the start of a new galaxy sized war, he felt it now. He now knew what that darkness was, and he wasn't sure they were strong enough to stop it this time.

_A few weeks beforehand, at another Dark Council meeting_

This time around, the entirety of the council had met in person on Korriban. Repairs were already underway for what was left of the academy, and students from their hidden Empire were already being brought in. For now they were being a bit picky, taking the higher quality students over the weaker, knowing there was no need to bloat their forces with force users at the moment.

After taking some time to learn a bit more of the modern galaxy and to prepare their forces, the Sith Empire was ready. Its defense fleets were in place, droids such as the BX series of commandos were introduced into their droid forces, and the Sith themselves were ready to draw blood. Though the simple question was, how? What was the best way to go about it?

Malgus slammed a fist down onto the arm rest of his seat, his golden eyes glowering at the rest of the council, "We need to attack now! The war is in full swing between the Republic and the Confederacy, now is our chance to strike! While the Republic is still small and the Confederacy is still relatively weak!" This meeting had been ongoing for several hours, and Malgus had been determined in pressing the attack. These long hours of argument were making him lose his patience at this point.

Shaking her head, Lachris couldn't stop the sigh that escaped her lips due to her colleagues growing fury. Time to curb it before it was too late, "While now would be a good time to attack, and while yes our forces do outmatch the Republics, we don't outnumber both. We don't have the firepower to take on both the Republic and the CIS quite yet, not without overwhelming losses. The risk of eradication is high, and I for one don't enjoy the thought of being on the losing side of a war once more."

And so it continued. Marr and Revan both stayed silent, while the rest of the council offered their occasional input to the topic of all out war. They all felt the same, they wanted to take the galaxy for themselves as was their right. They wanted all out war once more and to decimate their ancient foes, but they didn't want to rush into things without having a proper plan. To do so was to welcome their utter demise once more, and none of them felt they could handle putting themselves back into stasis.

Their pride wouldn't allow it. Their pride made them _refuse _that option as a possibility. This time it was victory to the Sith, or it would be death.

Revan glanced over at Nox, who had once more fallen into silence and simply was watching the proceedings of the council. The descendant of Kallig looked over at Revan with a tilt of the head, the former knight clenching his fist and nodding his head at his old friend. Nox understood his colleagues meaning and began to increase the pressure in the room, focusing his power in the force. He had grown tired of this meeting anyway.

"**Enough**." Amplifying his voice with the force, Nox brought the rest of the bickering council down to silence. They were all strong, and confident in their power, but they also all knew not to trifle with Nox. Those who had in the past hadn't exactly survived the attempt after all. Now that he had their attention and more importantly, he had them silent, he could hand things over to his colleague, "Revan, say your piece."

And so the former knight took the spotlight, "Thank you, my friend. A full frontal assault as Malgus suggests is foolish, for many reasons. For one, we won't be able to keep up the momentum to fight off both the CIS and the Republic at the same time. We don't have the numbers, and we won't have them before this war ends. Second, the galaxy's current view of us. Many joined the CIS as they feel it is simply the lesser of two evils, it is the same for the Republic. There are also many who now demonize our ancient foe, the old Jedi having fallen from grace. Even if we succeed in an all out offensive, we would be hard pressed to keep it. Not only would we be contending with the military of both the CIS and Republic, we would once more be fighting against the native populace of each planet. It didn't exactly go well for us last time." And so his point was made.

They knew it wouldn't be long before one of the current galactic powers discovered their hidden empire on their own, now that they had come out of stasis and organized it. Whether it be the CIS or the Republic, someone would come to this part of the galaxy in search of a weapon to use against their enemy for the sake of winning the war. They wanted to declare their existence on their terms, to show their revival on their terms. They didn't want to simply be discovered, like rats hiding away. Malgus especially felt this, the cyborg clenching his fists before slamming them both on his arm rest, the large lord standing from his seat as he stared at the masked Sith, "Then what do you propose we do? You're our strategist, so _strategize_! All you've told us are factors we've already taken into account!"

"I've already got a strategy in place. I was simply waiting for you all to get this senseless frustration out of your system." Stunned into silence, Malgus sat back. He hadn't quite expected the man to already have a plan of action in place, though he supposed he should have remembered who he was talking to. Staying silent, he and the rest of the council waited for Revan to speak, "Currently the majority of the galaxy dislikes the Jedi, and by the majority I mean the common people. A good few government officials have also been raised with myths of Jedi being kidnappers and using odd magics. The Republics government has been corrupted from the inside out, and the galaxy itself is splintered. The corrupted Republic, the overly forceful CIS, and the pacifistic neutral systems. We need to offer a strong faction, to entice those in the CIS, as well as a more unified government and secure economy to entice those within the Republic and neutral systems."

It was Darth Lachris who decided now was the time to speak up, now being more interested in participating within the meeting now that her colleagues weren't constantly arguing, "That's all well and good for our odds Revan, but what exactly is your point? Its nice to know the galaxy has grown to hate our ancient foe, but when it comes to figuring out our next move, it doesn't help us much. We could begin to spread propaganda even further discrediting them, but there's not much else we could currently do."

The fallen prodigy couldn't help but smirk behind his mask at his fellow Sith, slowly raising an open palm in her direction, "Oh, there's not much we could do. Except for one thing." And so he slowly started to close his fist, as if he was crushing something within the center of his palm, "And that is launch a direct attack on the temple itself." He couldn't help but take pleasure in the widening of her eyes, his fellow Darth leaning forward in her seat as she stared at the genius among their order, though said genius was starting to come into question with his plan.

"You may think its a mad idea, but hear me out. We can't simply announce ourselves to the rest of the galaxy. We could show a fleet, a military, a new religious order, but no one remembers us. Its not enough to show we have the potential strength. We need feats to give us credibility." He stood from his throne and walked to the center of the twelve thrones, looking from Darth to Darth as he informed them of the logic behind his plan, "I am not proposing we launch an attack on Coruscant itself. That's a fools errand with our current stance, and while we may do damage all we do is leave us all open for the CIS to finish off. I propose that only lords of the Sith will join in the attack on the temple, using one of Malgus' stealth engines from Illum to get past the fleet. This will be seen as a religious conflict between two orders, one fueled by an old grudge due to the Jedi's past transgressions against us. We'll paint this as a religious matter. As long as we keep it to only an attack on the Jedi, we'll be relatively safe. The officials who hate the Jedi would also help with that. Even if they try to find reasoning to declare war, we could always say those involved had gone rogue." And so Revan finished the basics of his plan, looking to the faces of the other members of the Dark Council with confidence. He knew what their answer would be to his plan, he could already feel their excitement and blood-lust.

It was Malgus who decided to speak up for the rest of the council, and not one member spoke up to disagree with him, "And with this strike we gain favor with systems in the CIS, we gain an image of strength, favor with neutral systems and lesser Republic systems, and we get the first strike against our ancient foe. And no one but the Jedi will be able to retaliate. I am in favor of this plan, as are the rest of us I do believe." After Malgus spoke up, the rest of the Sith grinned and gave their agreement.

It was time.

_The Jedi Temple_

_Present Time_

A few of the elders of the Order couldn't help but look around the temple in despair, the younglings and padawans being hurried away by their teachers. The elders couldn't help but compare this to the raid on the temple they learned of so long ago, when the Sith Order had returned to the galaxy at full strength. These same Jedi's eyes widened in horror as the shuttle opened, revealing warriors in armor and dark cloaks, wielding crimson blades.

"Its the Sith! The Sith have returned! Evacuate the temple and call for the guard!" And so they assembled. Knights and masters without students began to gather, along with the temple guard. But the Sith didn't wait for their foes to get organized. They charged as a group towards their ancient enemy, yelling a battle cry and letting loose all their blood-lust for every force sensitive on the planet to feel, many of the younger force sensitives in the temple as well as some of the weaker padawans finding themselves crippled by the concentration of such heavy dark side energies suddenly being unleashed. It was time for vengeance.

The Sith warriors collided with the unorganized and terrified Jedi, cutting down the old and slow that hadn't gotten away, and the young and inexperienced. The body count was rising quickly, though more Jedi and clone soldiers were on their way to assist with the assault. A few Sith broke away from the main fighting, making their way towards the council chambers.

Malgus slowly made his way out of the shuttle, taking in a deep breath as he reveled in the destruction. He had lead the last sacking of the temple, and he was more than happy to be a part of this one. The cyborg looked over to a weathered knight who had already cut down two other knights with a smirk hidden by his mask, his massive frame charging to meet him in battle. He raised his bladed saber hilt with both hands, bringing it down quickly on the knight, his opponent just barely managing to block and hold his ground...

_Supreme Chancellors Office_

The Jedi had wasted no time in rushing for their precious temple, going to defend it from their ancient foe. Now the entire galaxy knew that the Sith had returned, and none suspected anything from Palpatine. Recent events were proving to be both a curse, and a blessing in disguise.

He sighed, an irritated frown quickly forming on his wrinkled face, his eyes flashing a sickly gold for a brief moment. The appearance of more Sith such as Revan, as he could feel the pure hatred and rage centered on the Jedi Temple, would ensure he stayed safe. The Jedi could never suspect him now, not until each of them was already being buried within their graves. Yet on the other hand...

These were variables he hadn't anticipated, and he didn't know how much they could affect the outcome of the war. Even more worrisome was the fact that he didn't have an entire army programmed to kill these Sith when he was ready, it would be the Force knows how many Sith vs just himself and Tyrannus. Though if he has his way, Sidious will have the perfect successor to the lineage of Bane.

The Lord of the Sith looked over at the Jedi Temple with a raised eyebrow, the Jedi council chambers erupting in a brilliant explosion and bringing the entire tower down. Despite his irritation at the situation, he couldn't help but smirk at his brethren's handiwork. With any luck, Dooku would find this mysterious presence they had sensed. The sudden darkness. He now had a good hunch as to the source, and he was ready to... _negotiate._

_Jedi Temple  
_

By the time the council members had arrived at the temple, the Sith had already left. A large portion of the temple was left in ruin, with many of its ancient tapestries slowly being engulfed by the flames created by the shuttle crash. All of the masters eyes were widened in horror as they stepped through the rubble of the temples entrance, looking around at their fallen friends. Master Windu looked quite grim, his eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. Anger did burn deep within him, but what showed in his eyes was sorrow. Master Yoda on the other hand...

The small grandmaster slowly walked over to the body of one of their more promising knights, someone who had been close to being a master himself. Three bodies cloaked in black lay around him, yet it seems he was cut down anyway by another lightsaber. There were stab wounds as well, as if he had been attacked by a metal blade along with a saber. His eyes were empty now, lifeless. They had been far too late. HE, had been far, far too late. He had failed his students, and his order.

The little green Jedi fell to his knees, one of his hands rising to his forehead as he slowly shook his head at the catastrophe that had taken place. The tower containing the council chambers had detonated on their way to the temple, igniting further horror by the time they had arrived. They knew they would have to look around and take stock of the damage, uncover all the bodies and give them the proper funeral rites. If they were all recognizable, that is.

Yoda slowly stood back up, having seemingly aged another few centuries due to their surroundings. He turned to his fellow council members that were with him, his eyes grave and full of guilt and sorrow, "Recall all our Jedi, we must. Need time to recover, we do..."

**This is a lot more sloppy than I had intended it to be, and it got to a point where I just wanted to get it out due to writers block. Hopefully the quality in writing won't dip like this again. A part of my issues with this was, as stated before, writers block, a part of it is the current pandemic that has me both busy and depressed as shit, among other irl issues I'm solving such as repairing relationships with close friends. I am incredibly sorry for the long wait and the subpar chapter...**

**There is also something I have been meaning to address, and that is the multiple reviews on Nox and Revan and all them showing their true power and taking out entire fleets with force storms and- that ain't fuckin happening. I intend for them to be a force to be reckoned with still, but I don't intend for this to be a total stomp. It would be boring and overly easy to write a story where the Sith empire stomps just because its main fleets are lead by the likes of Revan and Nox. These massive force storms and such will not be a thing, and they will not be so far above Palpatine and Yoda in terms of their abilities. (If I were to give Revan and Nox their full strength, then lets be fair. I'd have to give Palpatine his stupid strength from the Dark Empire to compensate, and fuck that nonsense. Everything is gonna be grounded power wise.) So while I know many of you have said, "I can't wait to see Revans full might!" His full might as you imagine will not be so stupidly OP. I hope this doesn't turn too many of you away from the story.**


	7. Out of Shadows, Chapter 6: Loyalty

Third Person POV

_The Malevolence_

Truthfully, the droid general and count of Serenno were both in shock over the news they received. They hadn't expected for there to be an emergency broadcast over the holonet so suddenly, much less did they think they would learn of an attack on Coruscant.

They hadn't imagined that the Jedi Temple would be sacked, just as it had been thousands of years ago by the returning Sith Empire. Though the news wasn't exactly unwelcome, especially after hearing of the mass casualties that the order faced. At minimum several dozen assorted Jedi Knights and Masters had been killed in the attack, taking away men and women that could've helped in the war effort.

The droid general had been especially ecstatic to hear of the casualties they faced. As time went on, further news came out that a few dozen younglings had gone missing. Their bodies weren't found among the dead, and it could only be speculated that they either found a way to escape the temple and the ensuing massacre, or they had been taken by the attackers. Supposedly, the attackers had the appearance of the Sith warriors of old.

Then, of course, there was the hijacked transmission from before.

"_I am known as Darth Revan._"

Much of the history regarding Revan had been buried in the Jedi's attempts to make sure none ever followed in his footsteps, to stop the near extinction of the Jedi Order again. The Republic hadn't kept many of their records regarding the ancient warrior either, simply keeping a passing mention of him when it came to the topic of the Mandalorian wars. History was written by the victors, and it was shown with how little Revan and his own escapades were mentioned.

Yet then came someone claiming to be the ancient Sith, right before an attack on the temple, mirroring the attack thousands of years ago. Too much lined up too well for this to simply be the work of a couple fanatical Dark Jedi, especially considering how uniform the effort was. Dooku wasn't quite ready to believe that it was the Sith Empire reborn, but he was going to keep his mind open to the possibilities.

Ever since they had first received the news, Dooku had made sure Grievous had made haste with preparing the fleet to begin their search as they had initially planned. Hopefully the search wouldn't be quite so difficult now, as before they were simply going to search a general location for whatever had brought on the dark storm over the galaxy. If he was a betting man, the count would certainly make the bet that these supposed Sith were the source, if they weren't at least directly related.

He had also received a few attempted transmissions from his master, of which he had ignored. Only once had one of the transmissions been answered, only for one of the B1 units to tell the old Sith that he was too busy to answer his transmission at the moment. When he later came to find the scrapped remains of the droid, he couldn't help the small smirk of amusement that had crept onto his face.

He knew his master was likely a bit frantic over trying to find out exactly who these people were, and it was possible he might've even sensed his own involvement in the assault considering his own ambitions. It was best to keep him wondering for the moment however, to prevent him from getting a proper read on his intentions.

After all, if he liked what he found, then his master could be damned. His endgame would've already come into existence without his own prodding, and he would no longer have to suffer his masters manipulations. He would no longer be his expendable pawn.

And he couldn't wait to see his masters face as all his carefully laid plans came unraveling around him.

* * *

_The Widower_

_Dathomir_

Nox couldn't help but be somewhat amused to the way the rest of the galaxy began to scramble in an attempt to react to the recent attack on the temple. The CIS had been shocked, while the Republic was in complete dismay. Currently there was no one for them to declare war against for this attack, or even properly blame. His old friend may have presented them to the rest of the galaxy, but no one knew their proper location quite yet.

He hadn't been too surprised when he learned of the plan that Marr and Revan were cooking up. He had never had the same respect for the Jedi that they did, but he did see that they had fallen from grace. The Jedi may act as a part of the Republic, but the fact of the matter is they are meant to be a purely neutral faction, not meant to intercede in mass political affairs. They were meant to serve as peacekeepers. The defense to prevent all out war would be that this was an assault on a group that was known to brainwash and take young children, one that while it lived in the heart of the Republic, is not meant to serve it.

It was far from a perfect argument, but it gave them enough of an excuse to perform an attack. And if the Sith was being quite honest, he doubted the senate would give any proper response. The corruption that poisoned the Republics government was rampant, and would surely make any response they had ineffective. At the very least, it would take them far too long to even try to form a proper response.

Talzin hadn't taken much time to swear her allegiance and that of all her clans to the Sith Empire, in return for protection and technology. Nox had readily agreed, recognizing the benefits of their sorcery and having several hundred force sensitive warriors join their ranks, especially considering they were all elite quality. He had his plans for the nightsisters, especially their dead. One that he was now ready to go present to Mother Talzin.

Nox left the bridge after he was done going over incoming news and transmissions, walking to the cargo bay with Xalek in tow. They both boarded the shuttle to head down to Dathomir, the force sensitive Khaleesh sitting across from his old master. The younger Sith, if only slightly now, looked at his old master in silence before he spoke up, "My lord. May I ask you a question?"

The masked Sith only slightly shifted his head to view his former student, before nodding his assent. He had considered giving a slightly snarky comment, but had gone against that instinct, "Yes, is something bothering you?"

The khaleesh shook his head in the negative before he spoke up, only hoping he wouldn't offend his master, "Not at all. I wished to know of Ashara. She was a student of yours as well if I remember right, and you had seemed quite... taken with her at the time. Why didn't you take her into stasis as well?" The Sith was more well mannered and well spoken then he had been as an apprentice, which was likely a good thing. Nox wasn't all too sure how effective he would be if he had kept his overly brutish nature at the forefront.

"Its simple. She was simply too light." At his old friends curious gaze he decided to elaborate, "I had first met Ashara not long after I had been declared to be the new Lord Kallig. At the time she was still a Jedi padawan, one that was restless and had a need for action. She was ripe for corruption, and so I tried my hand at it. I had convinced her to help and join me, and she had been quite attractive at the time. Yet no matter what happened, she always lingered on the side of the light. She became more dark than the majority of her former peers, but she wasn't at all suitable as an apprentice. I'm quite sure if she had to undergo the trials at Korriban, she wouldn't have survived.

"Then of course, on the subject of affections, there is Lady Nyx. And she is _more _than enough." Now finished with his explanation, the Sith laid back in his seat, simply waiting for the shuttle to land on the surface of Dathomir. The rest of the way down to the surface of the planet, he could feel the pride that emanated from Xalek at having been more worthy than his first student.

* * *

It didn't take long for the nightsisters to send out a guide to greet them once more, protected by another two witches of the group. Once more they were allowed to hang on to their weapons, the small group being lead back to the temple that the witches currently occupied. Though if Nox had anything to say about it, they would soon be in better living conditions then the old ruins they currently called home.

Though on the way to the temple they had come across quite the obstacle in their path, one that would prove to be temporary with the intervention of Nox. A bull rancor stood in their path, likely on the prowl for a meal due to the hungry gaze it sent them, salivating slightly at the morsels before it. The great beast roared its challenge at the five as it began to tense, readying its charge.

Nox simply tilted his head in curiosity and amusement, not feeling at all threatened by what some may call a monster. And so he began to reach out with the force and waited for the animal to charge, holding up one hand to signal those around him not to do anything. The witches looked nervous, but reluctantly obeyed considering their new allegiance. Xalek, on the other hand, simply bowed in silence to his old master, as if he was still the apprentice to be taught a lesson.

As the rancor charged, Nox suddenly gripped its body with the force, halting it a few dozen feet from where their party stood. Pouring a light amount of energy through his arms to the tips of his fingers, he began to teach the rancor its place on the food chain. Lightning sprung from his fingertips, shocking the beast as it roared in pain, smoke rising up from its hide. Nox soon forced the body to slam into the earth beneath it, bringing its head a mere few feet from in front of Nox.

The Dark Council member placed a hand on the forehead of the apex predator, before enforcing his will upon its very being, no longer using the lightning to cause it pain. He watched as its tiny beady eyes began to take a shade of yellow, before he felt all semblance of resistance crumble away. He let go of the rancor with the force, allowing it to stand as it shook its body, mild burns being found all across its body from the low power lightning Nox had used.

"I believe this will be a suitable specimen for Malora to examine once I send it to her. Xalek, send word to my ship and tell them to find some place to land and to prepare a large holding area for my new beast." He began to walk once more with Xalek at his side, the rancor following them while the sisters simply stared at the pair in silent disbelief.

As the two Sith made their plans to transport the rancor off world, the leader of the three witches shook her head in disbelief at the outsiders, "I suppose that would be why Mother Talzin was so quick to have us join them." She didn't take too long to muse, racing ahead with the other witches soon after to gain the lead in front of the Sith to guide them once more.

They doubted they were actually needed to do so.

* * *

Upon arriving back at the ruins, Nox found Talzin already waiting for them out front with a large group of night sisters watching them. Nodding at the Nightsister matriarch, Nox gestured at the group of witches that had gathered around them, "If you would dismiss them, I'd have us speak in private once more. I have a proposition to help swell the numbers and strength of your clan, to the likes of which it has never seen before."

Talzin merely raised an eyebrow at the words of the Sith before nodding her assent, dismissing her witches with but the wave of a hand, "Come, then." She said, the power of the witch echoing in her voice, "Let us go speak of this proposition you have for us. I'm sure it will be quite interesting." Without another word, she turned away from him to lead him furthe rinto the temple ruins, with Nox moving to follow. Xalek was left behind with the rancor, the Sith Lord beginning to fiddle with his saber.

Reaching the same chambers as last time they both took their seats, Nox wasting no time in making his idea known, "I'll be blunt. I've noticed the abundance of spirits that linger on this planet, as if laying in wait. The presence of these spirits feel strongest within the cocoons spread across the planet. I assume they hold the bodies of long dead night sisters?"

Raising an eyebrow once more, this time wondering why the Sith necessarily cared about the spirits, she nodded and decided to explain, "Yes. Once a member of the clan dies, the spirit lingers so it could later serve again. In a time of crisis, we raise the dead as a nigh unstoppable army to ward off invaders. We have rarely had to use this method to defend ourselves, but it has proven useful nonetheless."

Nodding his satisfaction, he decided to make his proposition there, "And what if instead of an army of the dead, we could return those witches to the living?"

She was initially stunned at the proposal. It didn't take a genius to figure out his plan was to, somehow, bring the entirety of all her clans past members back to life. "How? How would such a thing be possible? I am sure if it was, we would've found a method to do so decades ago."

Nox couldn't help but wince beneath his mask, knowing that he was likely to be put out of commission by this plan if he put it into motion, but went ahead nonetheless, "I have the ability to subdue and hold spirits within my body, I currently hold the spirits of my long dead ancestor Kallig, among a few other ancient Sith who both willingly and unwillingly joined me. I could perform the same sort of process with your witches, either all at once, or small groups in batches. Though to do them all at once would leave me incapacitated until we could perform the next step in my attempts to keep myself sane.

"The next step would be to go to a rakatan machine I found long ago. I had earned its favor by giving it freedom, and it in turn rebuilt my body in such a way to make me stronger, more able to hold my spirits. With your assistance, we'd use the machine to recreate the bodies they had before they died, and I would be used to place the spirits back within them."

For a few moments, there was silence. Soon though, Mother Talzin went and kneeled in front of the masked Darth, bowing her head as she did so. It was a show of humility she was unused to, but she was more than fine with showing in this instance, "If you were to do such a thing, our clan would face a time of prosperity and power like no other." The disbelief and shock was still far too easy to find in her voice, "If you were to do this, you would earn the undying loyalty of our clan, for centuries to come. We would be in your dept for as long as our clan lived. We would be loyal to you, and your empire."

Smirking in satisfaction, Nox nodded and rose from his seat, leading Talzin out of the temple as they made their way to the first of the cocoons that held one such body and spirit.

"Then lets get started."

* * *

**I live! And I've updated the story! Still super busy irl, but I finally had some inspiration hit me for this story. The galaxy is left reeling from the attack on the temple and, more importantly, Nox is planning to raise an army of potentially thousands of (albeit weaker) force sensitive witches to serve the Sith. Its a bit convoluted, but I had the idea a while back and felt it was somewhat, kinda plausible. There was a rakatan machine that supposedly made several races within the star wars storyline. I felt it would be easier for it to make empty vessels, not active consciousness for spirits.**

**Anyways tell me what y'all think! Also, if anyone is a writer and a fan of game of thrones, I got something in the works that I'd like some assistance on!**


	8. Into the Shadows, Chapter 7: Alliances

_The Widower_

_Hyperspace_

_With Lord Xalek_

The khaleesh Sith lord was left in command, having been told of the plan and given the order before the plan had been enacted. As anticipated, Darth Nox was completely incapacitated due to having several thousand spirits inhabit his body, raging around within him. He had confidence in his old masters ability to keep them under wraps however, knowing his strength would not be rivaled by long dead witches. Besides, he had many spirits to help him in his efforts to subdue them as well.

In the meantime while Nox was down, he was being kept in a bacta tank to keep him in top shape and comfortable, so that he wouldn't find his back and shoulders full of knots when he finally woke up after ridding himself of the spirits. The last thing anyone needed, Xalek needed, was an irate Nox due to an aching back. The last time such an event had occurred, due to an injured Nox being forced to rest, his temper had ensured his entire crew did their best to avoid them. Though that was during his time as a young lord.

"Lord Xalek." He was knocked out of his thoughts by one of the bridge officers, the man only slightly nervous as he stood in front of the Sith lord, "We're receiving a transmission from Darth Revan. He is requesting Lord Nox's presence, you are needed to speak with him in his place." The call of a dark council member being answered by the likes of a more minor underling certainly explained why the man was nervous.

"Thank you for informing me, you've done well. You're dismissed." Turning away from the bridge officer, the man turning away to resume his duties, the khaleesh turned and left the bridge, entering the same private holo room Nox used when he wished to have a private call. He kneeled as he accepted the transmission, his head slightly bowed as the visage of Revan appeared through the terminal, "My lord."

"Lord Xalek?" Revan seemed mildly surprised that it was his friends old apprentice who had answered and not the man itself, not that any of it was able to show that well through the mark, "I was attempting to call Darth Nox. Is he busy at the moment?" Judging by the way he spoke, Xalek assumed he was likely not told of Nox's plan with the nightsisters.

It seemed his old master had gotten a bit ahead of himself.

"I'm sorry, my lord. Nox is rather... incapacitated at the moment." At the slight tilt of Revan's head he went on to explain, "He is not injured. He has taken on a large host of nightsister spirits, so as to resurrect them and introduce them into the army as loyal soldiers. The matriarch of the night sisters has pledged the undying allegiance of her clan if he is successful." He knew he didn't need to explain the potential of such a force to Revan of all people

"Of course he did." The Sith lord muttered dryly, seemingly both amused and annoyed by this turn of events as he looked down, "He's always trying to go above and beyond to keep the empire alive. He did for the old and he does for the new." Shaking his head, he returned his gaze to Xalek with crossed arms, "Tell the fool not to overexert himself in such ways when he wakes. I need to speak with him as soon as possible."

"Can I not take your message for him, my lord?"

"No, I'd rather speak with him in person if at all possible. Its not an urgent matter, I simply wished to discuss a few things with him." The ancient lord played the conversation off as being of little importance, and Xalek chose not to question it. He was a strong lord in his own right, though he knew he couldn't hold a candle to the ancient Sith that currently govern the Empire. He couldn't help but dread the day they passed on from this life.

"As you wish, my lord. I'll convey your wishes to him and message as soon as he awakens." Revan nodded down at the bowing Sith lord, ending the transmission as the khaleesh stood and straightened his posture. The younger lord sighed and left the room, shaking his head as went to go and check on his old master. Though the chances of an attack were low even with recent events, Xalek hadn't wanted to take chances and went a bit overboard with the guard for Nox.

A half a dozen Sith warriors stood guard outside the medbay, along with a dozen commando droids. Within the medbay itself stood another two Sith warriors to guard the entrance in the event of an attempted assassin. Some may have considered it overkill to pull away so may elite warriors simply to protect the masked Sith, though he considered the precaution warranted. As things stood, Nox was vulnerable, and with the current state of the galaxy and their recent reveal, he could never be too careful.

After all, there was no shortage of enemies that could be hidden within the shadows, even with their more unified empire. There would always be those so foolish and weak, yet overly ambitious in their goals.

Xalek would sooner remove his own head than have a power hungry idiot kill his old mentor.

Satisfied that his master was in more than capable hands, the younger Sith Lord went to return to the bridge, intent on keeping order until they were able to bring Nox to the Mother Machine.

This time around, he knew in his gut that the Jedi would be unable to stop them.

* * *

_On Board Darth Nyx's Flagship,_ _the Philosopher_

_Korriban_

Nyx's lips were pursed as she looked over the most recent reports concerning the revitalized Korriban, as well as the state of things within the Empire. Revan's joining of the Dark Council brought one of the larger and more annoying splinter factions within the old empire to heel, removing one potential threat that she wouldn't have to deal with, unlike her predecessor. So far there were very few reports of those who were under threat of becoming light, only Sith who were calmer, less sadistic.

It suited her just fine, it ensured she had less complaints from Sith Lords who ended up losing their apprentices or favored acolytes to the wild animals and more mad members of the empire. Such reports had been capable of causing no small amount of headaches back before the last Empire fell, considering the quality of acolytes they were allowing into the Sith academy at the time.

Though even with the Sith Empire being more unified than ever before, that didn't mean the awakening of so many Sith who had never met each other before hadn't lead to certain... problems. The likes of which that would have to be dealt with preferably before they had a second Revanite incident on their hands.

With a sigh she turned off the datapad she had been using to oversea the reports before getting up from her seat, having ensured she had a private office for her own flagship until such a time that they were capable of building up a more suitable capital, something the council itself was still unsure of. Some had been advocating for Dromuund Kaas to be rebuilt, for the comfort of what was familiar. Though if truth be told, she felt sticking to the old and familiar when it came to Kaas would just be a mistake.

Shaking off such thoughts she turned on her private holo-terminal, attempting to reach Nox now that she wasn't busy with her work. It was rare for such calls to be able to pass, but she still tried nonetheless. Last they had spoke, he had been intent on completing some sort of project that was related to Dathomir, and if she knew the empowered Darth, his plan would likely be along the lines of "high risk, high reward".

It may as well have been his motto at this point, truth be told. And she wanted to desperately throttle him for it at times.

As expected, the transmission to Nox didn't go through, bringing out a roll of the eyes. Having failed to connect with her long time lover once more, she instead went to communicate with two other members of the council, that could help her deal with the potential dangers represented by some of these dissenting Sith.

Both luckily answered and looked at her with tilted heads and raised eyebrows as she began the conversation, "Cytharat, Severin. I believe its about time we begin to handle a few potential, internal threats within the Empire." Wasting no time in getting to the point, when all three of them had things to do.

The two Sith only continued to look at her in curiosity, only for Cytharat to lead the response, "What exactly did you have in mind, Lady Nyx?" The Sith pure blood asked, curiosity shining just a bit more bright now.

"A few things." She said, a small smirk coming to her lips.

* * *

_The Malevolence_

_Hyperspace_

They were getting close, of that the count was certain. He was feeling a certain pull through the dark side of the force now, egging him on, telling him to _move faster he was nearly there_, that he was finally so close to what he had been searching for, to what he thought would take several more decades to bring about. The master duelist took a deep breath as he looked about the bridge of the Malevolence, briefly taking note of Grievous taking his ire out on a battle droid.

As he thought about it, he wasn't all too sure he would have much use for the droid general anymore. He was one of his best military commanders in the CIS, but if there was a satisfactory Sith Empire that was already formed, well, then he didn't have much of a use for the separatist movement or those that followed it. He would certainly be able to bring a good few systems with him into this Empire, of that he had no doubt, but generals the likes of Grievous, well...

All he had to know was that if Revan was within this empire, than the cyborg Khaleesh was easily replaceable for the time when he outlived his usefulness.

"Count Dooku, sir, we are going to be coming out of hyperspace within a few minutes to inspect Korriban. Coordinates for the next system are ready." Dooku nodded at the B1 but gave it no further acknowledgement, the cheap battle droid giving no further information afterwards and returning to its duties.

The old Sith licked his lips anxiously, knowing if he were to find what he was looking for, than this would likely have what he was searching for. Korriban is deeply entrenched within the history of the Sith, and though it no longer serves as a capital as it once did for the Sith as a species, it still held great historical and tactical importance to them. If a new empire had emerged from the shadows, than it was that much more likely they had reclaimed the red desert planet.

And yet, he still found his breath stolen from him once they exited hyperspace.

Dozens of varying ships, all being of a clear ancient Sith design, several orbital stations above the planet as well. The rest of the fleet that he brought as a part of a large scale scouting force also began to exit hyperspace around the Malevolence. It wasn't long after they exited hyperspace that they were being hailed, a woman appearing on holo once he allowed the transmission to come through. The saber hilt at her waist hinted at who she was, if the cold countenance and the sense of authority wasn't enough of one.

"I am Darth Nyx of the Sith Empires Dark Council, you have entered a star system under control of the new empire without prior warning. Be quick with your explanations, or see the fleet you have brought to our world destroyed." Though it rankled him just a bit to be threatened by one so much younger than him, he wasn't surprised by it. The count just had to hold back a smirk as he realized his old master was about to lose many pieces to his several years long game.

Stepping up so that he would be within view for the female Sith, he kept an arm behind his back and bowed to her, "Greetings, my lady. I am known as Count Dooku of the CIS, and have otherwise been dubbed as Darth Tyrannus by my own master, Sidious. I came here to investigate the surge of dark force energy that appeared in hopes of finding something worthwhile. Would you be open to discussing things further in person?"

The cold calculation and curiosity as she studied him was just a bit unnerving, a bit unexpected of someone who seemed so much younger. Though he supposed there was a reason she had risen to the station of Darth within a new Empire, "Sidious, you say? Yes, I would. We'll have a fighter escort guide you to my ship, if you'll take either a shuttle or a starfighter and come to me."

"Excellent, my lady. I'll be along shortly." With any luck, they would be exactly what he was looking for. And the chains that were the power of Sidious would no longer serve to shackle him to his cause as a tossable pawn.

* * *

_Revans Flagship, the Balance_

_Hyperspace_

Being one of the military spheres in the new Sith Empire, Revan felt it was important to buff up their forces with some more high quality soldiers. Though the men and women that had joined the current military were well trained and dangerous in their own right, one on one they wouldn't quite compare to the republics clone troopers, though they would certainly be able to outdo the B1 models the CIS seems to favor. Droids also filled in a good portion of their fleets crews and ground forces, but it wasn't quite enough for the Sith.

Luckily, he had an idea on where he could gain some more than suitable warriors to add to their ranks. He had discussed such matters in depth with Darths Marr and Malgus previously, considering this would concern the both of them as well, though he had left out Lachris from the equation despite his intent. Diplomacy may be her specialty after all, but those he intended to try and recruit had a warriors heart, with traditions that were centered around it.

Though he had to say, he was rather disappointed with the turn the Mandalorians had apparently taken in more recent years.

Though many of its ancient warriors clans still held power over the planet, it was more over their own personal sections. The planet itself was represented by someone who identified as a "New Mandalorian", someone who had a pacifistic outlook on life. And truth be told, he was disgusted to even know it was possible for the words pacifist and Mandalorian to be placed together to categorize a group.

In response to many seemingly falling under this new pacifistic reign was, of course, a group of extremists called the deathwatch, which seemed to have the backing of a good few of Mandalore's more powerful clans. The plan Revan had in place was quite simple, the reveal of his return and the subsequent attack on the Jedi temple should hopefully assist with it.

Remove the abysmal pacifistic government currently in place and take control of Mandalore once more by installing a capable warrior to lead them. Luckily enough, he had the perfect artifact to make many of the mandalorians bend to him. He had a feeling it wouldn't be all that difficult to make the likes of the Death watch and most of the clans bend, at least.

After all, it wouldn't do if Nox was the only one gaining their empire new allies.

* * *

Upon entering Mandalorian space, Revan had been quick to send out a beacon to see whose attention he would gain. It wasn't long before a transmission began to hail them, with Revan personally answering it. The Sith lord was disappointed when it was the image of the duchess appeared, a frown forming behind his mask, though he made sure to hide it, "Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance Duchess, I hope my intrusion isn't causing too much of a problem?"

Yet the duchess only gave him a cold glare as she looked upon him, "Yes, your intrusion is causing a problem, actually. Who are you, and why have you brought a fleet of warships into neutral space?" To be honest, he wasn't exactly surprised at her displeasure, even if he only felt more disappointment. If this had been the mandalore of old, he knew that instead of neutrality, an attack would've been launched.

"I'm sure you should have heard of my by now, but my name is Darth Revan." He chose to ignore the widening of the eyes and the shock for the time being, "As for why I've brought a fleet of warships, I'm combing through the neutral sectors in search of old artifacts belonging to the Sith. Your Death Watch got in our way at one point, so I'll be exterminating them while I'm here." Of course, she needn't know the real reason for why he was there.

"Exterminate the Death Watch?" She muttered, her surprise quickly wearing off at the mention of the name of the Mandalorian extremists, "Then why exactly didn't you send a message ahead of time? If you intended to fight the terrorists plaguing this system, then we should've been made aware of your arrival beforehand."

The Sith only gave her a shrug in response, not really all that bothered by her ire, "A mistake on my part, my apologies. If you wouldn't mind assisting me with my search for them, I would be more than happy to take this little thorn out of your side. As well as mine. Afterwards I'll leave the system, and we won't have to see each other ever again."

As the duchess considered his words another transmission began to come in, having kept the beacon going during their discussion. The Sith Lord smirked in satisfaction as he turned away from the Duchess, "Duchess, our transmission is about to be cut off. It seems we're under assault by your little terrorist group now, so it would seem I no longer need your information. We'll speak again at a later date." He ended the transmission before she could reply, not wanting to continue a pointless discussion.

The next figure to appear over the holo terminal was a true mandalorian, that much he could see. He wore a modified helmet, with markings in the shape of a claw, and attachments that seemed like antena on each side. Over his right shoulder he wore a half cape as well, completing the image of a mandalorian of higher status. The man before him crossed his arms as he stared him down, "So, you're the one who entered Mandalorian space. You called yourself Revan, got anything to lay credit to your claims besides his mask?"

"I've a few things, as well as a proposition, if you would be willing to meet. I believe its one that would greatly interest you and the mission you have set before you." As he said this he put an end to the beacon transmitting their coordinates, not needing anyone else to pick up on the location of his fleet.

The mandalorian before him tilted his head, seemingly in curiosity as he regarded the Sith before him, "Come to Concordia with your fleet. We can meet there to discuss matters, assuming you're not some imitator trying to waste my time."

Revan smirked behind his mask, even if he found himself slightly annoyed by his accusation of being a false Revan, "The only one who stands to have their time wasted by anyone is me. We'll be meeting soon."

"Yes, I suppose we will." And with that, the transmission cut off.

* * *

**Its real late and not as long as I wanted it to be, but its better than nothing at the very least right? I can't ever promise a consistent schedule, but I can attempt to keep coming back at the very least. Hope y'all enjoyed.**


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